Ultra
22nd December 2009, 14:57
Part 1 of 2
~ ~ ~ 18th December 2002 ~ ~ ~
“So with my grandparents coming over for Christmas we’re gonna be a pretty full house too,” explained Clark as he sat in the Talon with Chloe, discussing their plans for the festive season.
“Makes me and my Dad look pretty lonely,” shrugged the blonde, though the smile did not shift from her face even when Clark looked apologetic and guilty for what he’d said, “It’s fine, Clark, it’s how I like my Christmas,” she told him, “It’s been just the two of us doing our own thing since I was five years old, pretty much anyway. There were a couple of years when my Uncle Sam took pity on us but he’s not exactly big in the Christmas spirit.”
“So long as you’re happy,” Clark told her as he sipped his coffee, “You have your Dad, Lana will be with her Aunt, Pete has a huge family... that just leaves Lex to worry about.”
Chloe nodded her agreement to that. She hadn’t really thought about it much until Clark just mentioned it, but Lex had to be lonely, not just now but all the time. One man practically alone in that huge house. Money and power were all well and good but they were no substitute for friends and family, of which the young Mr Luthor was severely lacking.
“I guess it’d be awkward if you wanted to invite him to join in at the Kent family Christmas,” she sighed, knowing all too well how Mr Kent judged Lex on his father’s actions of the past.
Reputation was everything to some people, and Chloe honestly didn’t get it. She’d spent some time with Lex, not a lot but enough that she knew she liked him. He was a decent man, he talked to her like she was a person and not some dumb kid, and for the devil spawn title he’d been given by the press and the gossips, he seemed nice enough to her.
“My Dad would go crazy if I even suggested Lex come over for Christmas,” agreed Clark, looking like someone had kicked his puppy, “And then there’s his father to think about...”
“Yeah, Lionel Luthor is like a squirrel in your Christmas tree,” said Chloe with a nod, taking a long drink from her frappucino as Clark looked at her like she was a crazy person, a deep frown crossing his features, “Disturbingly furry and unwelcome at holiday gatherings,” the blonde explained with a twinkle in her eye that would’ve made Clark smile were it not for the fact he was now looking over Chloe’s head at who was standing there.
“Given the theme of the analogy I’m surprised you didn’t also add that he’s a little nuts,” said Lex smoothly, making Chloe almost choke on the coffee she hadn’t quite swallowed down.
“Oh my God,” she gasped as shock went through her, and she tried to recover before she turned around to look up at him, “Mr Luthor, hi. I had no idea you were there.”
“That much is evident, Miss Sullivan,” he said with a good-natured smile that eased her worries just a little, “but honestly, there’s no need to feel self-conscious or concern yourself with offending me,” he told her, as Clark moved over and offered Lex to sit beside him, “I have to say you’re description of my father was oddly accurate.”
“She was just kidding,” said Clark quick to defend one friend to the other, despite the fact no offence seemed to have been taken.
Chloe was red in the face and fighting desperately against it as her brain moved at a mile a minute, trying to think of anything else to say.
“Um, so... we were talking about how we’ll be spending Christmas this year,” she said after a moment of awkward silence, “Do you have any plans, Mr Luthor?”
“You know, Miss Sullivan, that I feel a little too like my father every time you use such a formal name for me,” he told her, pausing a moment to ask the waitress for another order of coffees for his friends and one for himself, “And since I have no wish to end up being cast as a small furry animal living in your Christmas tree...”
“Fair enough, Lex,” she amended quickly, mindful of his causing her to blush all over again, although the way he was smiling at her seemed to be doing that all on its own apparently, “If you could just change the subject and drop the formalities too, that’d be great,” she said quickly as Clark watched the two of them with amusement.
Lex liked to call the battle of wits he and Chloe so enjoyed their verbal judo, and Clark was always amazed by the pair of them and their newly invented sport. In some ways he thought they’d make betters friends to each other than he could to either of them, but he didn’t say anything about it.
“In answer to your earlier question, Chloe,” said Lex at length, “Christmas has become just another day of the year for me,” he shrugged his shoulders, “I have no family to speak of, only my father who will still be away on his business trip over this years holiday season,” he explained, “So I’ll most likely be catching up on paperwork, perhaps taking a break to re-watch It’s A Wonderful Life, and enjoying my own company.”
“That’s not right, Lex,” said Clark with a shake of his head, “Nobody should spend Christmas all alone.”
The look on Chloe’s face showed she agreed with that, but Lex barely glanced her way. After all, he knew what he expected to see on her features, that awful look of pity that made him feel ill. Clark was wearing a similar expression and so Lex’s eyes flitted everywhere but at the people surrounding him when he explained himself.
“It’s fine, Clark, I’m used to it,” he assured his friend, “When I was a child, my mother made a bigger deal out of events like Christmas and Birthdays, and perhaps I missed it when she first died but I’m all grown up now,” he forced a smile as he dared to glance Clark’s way, then focused back on his coffee, taking a long drink.
“Even adults celebrate Christmas, Lex,” said Chloe, looking stunned by his attitude, “Hell, even people of different religions go in for the tree and the gifts and everything, just to enjoy the festivities, spread the love.”
“Very few people would have love to spare for a Luthor, Chloe,” he answered her smoothly, “Besides, I’m not bitter. My friends have families of their own to spend the holidays with. The same can be said of my staff. I’m fine with the arrangement,” he assured them, a complete lie but no-one would ever tell.
“Well, I’m not,” the blonde before him seemed to be incensed at the idea of anyone spending what should be a happy occasion all alone, “Lex, why don’t you come over to my house for Christmas?” she offered without really thinking about it, “I know my Dad wouldn’t mind, and hey, if the whole day stuck in a house with me and my father doesn’t thrill you, at least come for dinner?” she laughed off the fact he seemed less than enthused by her offer, but that was not the case at all.
“Chloe, you’re very gracious and kind,” he said looking her way with such sincerity she didn’t doubt him a moment, “I really do appreciate the kind offer, but I couldn’t possibly invade your family Christmas like that. I wouldn’t do that to anybody,” he shook his head definitely, looking between the two young people and their awkward expressions.
This was what Lex had hoped to avoid, the pity looks and offers of forced friendship. Lex didn’t doubt that Chloe meant to be kind. For all her brashness and such, she was one of the few genuine people Lex knew. She said what she meant to say, no holds barred, and she would not have made her offer if she hadn’t truly meant it. Still, he would never accept, not a chance. He meant what he said too, and invading the Sullivan family Christmas was not something he was prepared to do, anymore than he would try to get an invite to the Kent farm.
“I really should be going,” he said a moment later, gulping down the last of his coffee in an attempt to get away, “I swear the only person working harder than me right now is Santa Claus himself,” he smiled briefly before getting up and quickly walking away, leaving Clark and Chloe alone, staring after him.
“Clark, we can’t let him spend Christmas like that,” she insisted as she faced her friend with one of her most determined looks.
“He said he wants to, Chloe,” he shook his head in response, knowing Lex was as stubborn as anyone else he knew, “Besides, you made him a offer, he said no. There’s nothing else we can do,” he said, moving away with apologies when he spotted Lana across the room.
Chloe watched him go, then turned her head to see the door swing closed behind Lex Luthor’s retreating form. She hated the idea of anyone spending the Holidays all alone. She could be as lonely and cold about it as Lex, after all she lost her mother too, in a different way but she was still gone. She didn’t exactly have an abundance of friends, and her family was literally her and her Dad. Still, she was determined to make each Christmas bright and merry just because she refused to be miserable for misery’s sake.
“I don’t give up that easy,” she said to herself, a plan already forming in her mind.
~ ~ ~ 25th December 2002, 11.30am ~ ~ ~
Lex Luthor’s Christmas Day was very much like every other day, only worse. A time that should be filled with the warmth and laughter of family and fun was instead cold and dark, and more lonely than even a regular working day. The staff had families to spend the holidays with, Lex didn’t bother to ask them to work. He had skeleton security staff, those that would work 365 days of the year just to earn a few extra bucks, and Lex presumed some that didn’t celebrate this time of year for whatever reason. Other than that he was entirely alone, the house undecorated save for the front entrance and foyer that held a large tree and such just to welcome any guests that dropped by. His dinner would be whatever he could throw together in the kitchen, and Lex would go to bed as quiet and lonely as he had gotten up this morning, or so he thought.
There was a buzzing from the desk and Lex shifted his gaze from the window he was stood by to see his cell hopping across the table-top. He wrongly assumed that Clark was calling to wish him a Merry Christmas, or perhaps his father was hoping to make him feel even worse about the holidays than he already did. The Unknown Number display confused him as he picked up the phone and answered it anyway.
“Lex Luthor,” he said sharply out of habit more than anything else.
“Geez, Lex, how long does a person have to hammer on your front door before you let them in?” asked Chloe, clearly out-of-breath from some kind of exertion and not at all happy at being left on his doorstep.
Why she was on his doorstep on Christmas morning, Lex could only wonder, but realised he needn’t ask as heading straight for the front door to let her in would solve both their problems.
“Just a minute,” he said into the phone before hanging up and moving quickly from his office, through the house to the door.
Chloe was certain a person could never look as shocked as when Lex opened the door to her and her father, but then he probably would’ve agreed that he’d never felt so shocked either. There they were, Mr and Miss Sullivan, bundled up against the elements in coats, hats, and gloves, carrying all manner of Christmas items in their arms. From here, Lex could see Christmas decorations and tinsel, plus Tupperware contains of all kinds of dinner foods and snacks. It was like an entire family Christmas had been packed up at one house and brought to another, as far as Lex could tell anyway, he really didn’t have much experience of these things to go on...
“Y’know the phrase ‘everything but the kitchen sink’?” said Chloe with a grin, “Well, this is every Christmas thing but the tree... and it looks as if you have one of those anyway,” she noted as she squeezed in through the door and spotted the over-sized spruce in the corner, covered in every kind of expensively bejewelled ornament.
“I’m so sorry to disturb you, Mr Luthor, Lex,” said Gabe as he practically fell in the door behind his daughter, correcting himself the moment he remembered Lex’s instruction to always used his first name outside of business hours, “but Chloe insisted you’d appreciate the company”
“And I was right,” said the blonde with determination as she dumped her bags and boxes in the hallway, “Forgive the mismatched religious reference, but if Mohammed won’t come to Christmas, then Christmas shall come to Mohammed,” she smiled brightly, in such a way that Lex was sure the whole entrance way filled with light just because of her.
It brought an usually unseen smile to his own face that only seemed to make her happier somehow.
“Chloe, Gabe, this was a very kind thought,” said Lex gratefully and genuinely, “but do you really want to spend your special day with me?”
“Only if we’re not intruding,” his employee and possible friend apparentely said as he sent a look of mock-severity his daughter’s way.
“Of course not,” Lex assured them, amazed that anyone wanted to do this for him still as he looked between father and daughter and marvelled at their genuine kindness towards him, “Um, here, let me help with these,” he said, shaking himself out of a moments warmth and light as he scooped up a bag that Chloe had been carrying and lightened Gabe’s load as well, taking all the Christmas things through to the office-cum-living room.
“Oh, thank God, heat!,” Chloe declared the moment they cleared the doors, running at the fireplace and rubbing her hands together by the blaze, “Seriously, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore,” she declared, “I swear we got blown to the Arctic Circle over night”
“My daughter does have a wonderful imagination and a superb knack for exaggeration,” Gabe rolled his eyes making Lex chuckle with his words.
He resisted the urge to reply, for fear of saying the wrong thing. That wasn’t the kind of thing that usually bothered a Luthor, but Lex felt entirely out of his depth in this situation, albeit in the best possible way. He was ill at ease with a happy family situation, though for years he craved to be a part of it. Clark and Martha Kent liked to make him feel at home at the farm, but there was always the underlying tension brought by Jonathan’s presence. He would never completely like Lex or welcome him into his home with open arms. In contrast it seemed the Sullivans were so determined to share Christmas with Lex that they would move their entire day into his house when he refused an offer to attend at their own home. Far from the sad and lonely day Lex Luthor had expected to have, it seemed today might be one of the best days of his life.
To Be Continued... (hopefully tomorrow!)
~ ~ ~ 18th December 2002 ~ ~ ~
“So with my grandparents coming over for Christmas we’re gonna be a pretty full house too,” explained Clark as he sat in the Talon with Chloe, discussing their plans for the festive season.
“Makes me and my Dad look pretty lonely,” shrugged the blonde, though the smile did not shift from her face even when Clark looked apologetic and guilty for what he’d said, “It’s fine, Clark, it’s how I like my Christmas,” she told him, “It’s been just the two of us doing our own thing since I was five years old, pretty much anyway. There were a couple of years when my Uncle Sam took pity on us but he’s not exactly big in the Christmas spirit.”
“So long as you’re happy,” Clark told her as he sipped his coffee, “You have your Dad, Lana will be with her Aunt, Pete has a huge family... that just leaves Lex to worry about.”
Chloe nodded her agreement to that. She hadn’t really thought about it much until Clark just mentioned it, but Lex had to be lonely, not just now but all the time. One man practically alone in that huge house. Money and power were all well and good but they were no substitute for friends and family, of which the young Mr Luthor was severely lacking.
“I guess it’d be awkward if you wanted to invite him to join in at the Kent family Christmas,” she sighed, knowing all too well how Mr Kent judged Lex on his father’s actions of the past.
Reputation was everything to some people, and Chloe honestly didn’t get it. She’d spent some time with Lex, not a lot but enough that she knew she liked him. He was a decent man, he talked to her like she was a person and not some dumb kid, and for the devil spawn title he’d been given by the press and the gossips, he seemed nice enough to her.
“My Dad would go crazy if I even suggested Lex come over for Christmas,” agreed Clark, looking like someone had kicked his puppy, “And then there’s his father to think about...”
“Yeah, Lionel Luthor is like a squirrel in your Christmas tree,” said Chloe with a nod, taking a long drink from her frappucino as Clark looked at her like she was a crazy person, a deep frown crossing his features, “Disturbingly furry and unwelcome at holiday gatherings,” the blonde explained with a twinkle in her eye that would’ve made Clark smile were it not for the fact he was now looking over Chloe’s head at who was standing there.
“Given the theme of the analogy I’m surprised you didn’t also add that he’s a little nuts,” said Lex smoothly, making Chloe almost choke on the coffee she hadn’t quite swallowed down.
“Oh my God,” she gasped as shock went through her, and she tried to recover before she turned around to look up at him, “Mr Luthor, hi. I had no idea you were there.”
“That much is evident, Miss Sullivan,” he said with a good-natured smile that eased her worries just a little, “but honestly, there’s no need to feel self-conscious or concern yourself with offending me,” he told her, as Clark moved over and offered Lex to sit beside him, “I have to say you’re description of my father was oddly accurate.”
“She was just kidding,” said Clark quick to defend one friend to the other, despite the fact no offence seemed to have been taken.
Chloe was red in the face and fighting desperately against it as her brain moved at a mile a minute, trying to think of anything else to say.
“Um, so... we were talking about how we’ll be spending Christmas this year,” she said after a moment of awkward silence, “Do you have any plans, Mr Luthor?”
“You know, Miss Sullivan, that I feel a little too like my father every time you use such a formal name for me,” he told her, pausing a moment to ask the waitress for another order of coffees for his friends and one for himself, “And since I have no wish to end up being cast as a small furry animal living in your Christmas tree...”
“Fair enough, Lex,” she amended quickly, mindful of his causing her to blush all over again, although the way he was smiling at her seemed to be doing that all on its own apparently, “If you could just change the subject and drop the formalities too, that’d be great,” she said quickly as Clark watched the two of them with amusement.
Lex liked to call the battle of wits he and Chloe so enjoyed their verbal judo, and Clark was always amazed by the pair of them and their newly invented sport. In some ways he thought they’d make betters friends to each other than he could to either of them, but he didn’t say anything about it.
“In answer to your earlier question, Chloe,” said Lex at length, “Christmas has become just another day of the year for me,” he shrugged his shoulders, “I have no family to speak of, only my father who will still be away on his business trip over this years holiday season,” he explained, “So I’ll most likely be catching up on paperwork, perhaps taking a break to re-watch It’s A Wonderful Life, and enjoying my own company.”
“That’s not right, Lex,” said Clark with a shake of his head, “Nobody should spend Christmas all alone.”
The look on Chloe’s face showed she agreed with that, but Lex barely glanced her way. After all, he knew what he expected to see on her features, that awful look of pity that made him feel ill. Clark was wearing a similar expression and so Lex’s eyes flitted everywhere but at the people surrounding him when he explained himself.
“It’s fine, Clark, I’m used to it,” he assured his friend, “When I was a child, my mother made a bigger deal out of events like Christmas and Birthdays, and perhaps I missed it when she first died but I’m all grown up now,” he forced a smile as he dared to glance Clark’s way, then focused back on his coffee, taking a long drink.
“Even adults celebrate Christmas, Lex,” said Chloe, looking stunned by his attitude, “Hell, even people of different religions go in for the tree and the gifts and everything, just to enjoy the festivities, spread the love.”
“Very few people would have love to spare for a Luthor, Chloe,” he answered her smoothly, “Besides, I’m not bitter. My friends have families of their own to spend the holidays with. The same can be said of my staff. I’m fine with the arrangement,” he assured them, a complete lie but no-one would ever tell.
“Well, I’m not,” the blonde before him seemed to be incensed at the idea of anyone spending what should be a happy occasion all alone, “Lex, why don’t you come over to my house for Christmas?” she offered without really thinking about it, “I know my Dad wouldn’t mind, and hey, if the whole day stuck in a house with me and my father doesn’t thrill you, at least come for dinner?” she laughed off the fact he seemed less than enthused by her offer, but that was not the case at all.
“Chloe, you’re very gracious and kind,” he said looking her way with such sincerity she didn’t doubt him a moment, “I really do appreciate the kind offer, but I couldn’t possibly invade your family Christmas like that. I wouldn’t do that to anybody,” he shook his head definitely, looking between the two young people and their awkward expressions.
This was what Lex had hoped to avoid, the pity looks and offers of forced friendship. Lex didn’t doubt that Chloe meant to be kind. For all her brashness and such, she was one of the few genuine people Lex knew. She said what she meant to say, no holds barred, and she would not have made her offer if she hadn’t truly meant it. Still, he would never accept, not a chance. He meant what he said too, and invading the Sullivan family Christmas was not something he was prepared to do, anymore than he would try to get an invite to the Kent farm.
“I really should be going,” he said a moment later, gulping down the last of his coffee in an attempt to get away, “I swear the only person working harder than me right now is Santa Claus himself,” he smiled briefly before getting up and quickly walking away, leaving Clark and Chloe alone, staring after him.
“Clark, we can’t let him spend Christmas like that,” she insisted as she faced her friend with one of her most determined looks.
“He said he wants to, Chloe,” he shook his head in response, knowing Lex was as stubborn as anyone else he knew, “Besides, you made him a offer, he said no. There’s nothing else we can do,” he said, moving away with apologies when he spotted Lana across the room.
Chloe watched him go, then turned her head to see the door swing closed behind Lex Luthor’s retreating form. She hated the idea of anyone spending the Holidays all alone. She could be as lonely and cold about it as Lex, after all she lost her mother too, in a different way but she was still gone. She didn’t exactly have an abundance of friends, and her family was literally her and her Dad. Still, she was determined to make each Christmas bright and merry just because she refused to be miserable for misery’s sake.
“I don’t give up that easy,” she said to herself, a plan already forming in her mind.
~ ~ ~ 25th December 2002, 11.30am ~ ~ ~
Lex Luthor’s Christmas Day was very much like every other day, only worse. A time that should be filled with the warmth and laughter of family and fun was instead cold and dark, and more lonely than even a regular working day. The staff had families to spend the holidays with, Lex didn’t bother to ask them to work. He had skeleton security staff, those that would work 365 days of the year just to earn a few extra bucks, and Lex presumed some that didn’t celebrate this time of year for whatever reason. Other than that he was entirely alone, the house undecorated save for the front entrance and foyer that held a large tree and such just to welcome any guests that dropped by. His dinner would be whatever he could throw together in the kitchen, and Lex would go to bed as quiet and lonely as he had gotten up this morning, or so he thought.
There was a buzzing from the desk and Lex shifted his gaze from the window he was stood by to see his cell hopping across the table-top. He wrongly assumed that Clark was calling to wish him a Merry Christmas, or perhaps his father was hoping to make him feel even worse about the holidays than he already did. The Unknown Number display confused him as he picked up the phone and answered it anyway.
“Lex Luthor,” he said sharply out of habit more than anything else.
“Geez, Lex, how long does a person have to hammer on your front door before you let them in?” asked Chloe, clearly out-of-breath from some kind of exertion and not at all happy at being left on his doorstep.
Why she was on his doorstep on Christmas morning, Lex could only wonder, but realised he needn’t ask as heading straight for the front door to let her in would solve both their problems.
“Just a minute,” he said into the phone before hanging up and moving quickly from his office, through the house to the door.
Chloe was certain a person could never look as shocked as when Lex opened the door to her and her father, but then he probably would’ve agreed that he’d never felt so shocked either. There they were, Mr and Miss Sullivan, bundled up against the elements in coats, hats, and gloves, carrying all manner of Christmas items in their arms. From here, Lex could see Christmas decorations and tinsel, plus Tupperware contains of all kinds of dinner foods and snacks. It was like an entire family Christmas had been packed up at one house and brought to another, as far as Lex could tell anyway, he really didn’t have much experience of these things to go on...
“Y’know the phrase ‘everything but the kitchen sink’?” said Chloe with a grin, “Well, this is every Christmas thing but the tree... and it looks as if you have one of those anyway,” she noted as she squeezed in through the door and spotted the over-sized spruce in the corner, covered in every kind of expensively bejewelled ornament.
“I’m so sorry to disturb you, Mr Luthor, Lex,” said Gabe as he practically fell in the door behind his daughter, correcting himself the moment he remembered Lex’s instruction to always used his first name outside of business hours, “but Chloe insisted you’d appreciate the company”
“And I was right,” said the blonde with determination as she dumped her bags and boxes in the hallway, “Forgive the mismatched religious reference, but if Mohammed won’t come to Christmas, then Christmas shall come to Mohammed,” she smiled brightly, in such a way that Lex was sure the whole entrance way filled with light just because of her.
It brought an usually unseen smile to his own face that only seemed to make her happier somehow.
“Chloe, Gabe, this was a very kind thought,” said Lex gratefully and genuinely, “but do you really want to spend your special day with me?”
“Only if we’re not intruding,” his employee and possible friend apparentely said as he sent a look of mock-severity his daughter’s way.
“Of course not,” Lex assured them, amazed that anyone wanted to do this for him still as he looked between father and daughter and marvelled at their genuine kindness towards him, “Um, here, let me help with these,” he said, shaking himself out of a moments warmth and light as he scooped up a bag that Chloe had been carrying and lightened Gabe’s load as well, taking all the Christmas things through to the office-cum-living room.
“Oh, thank God, heat!,” Chloe declared the moment they cleared the doors, running at the fireplace and rubbing her hands together by the blaze, “Seriously, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore,” she declared, “I swear we got blown to the Arctic Circle over night”
“My daughter does have a wonderful imagination and a superb knack for exaggeration,” Gabe rolled his eyes making Lex chuckle with his words.
He resisted the urge to reply, for fear of saying the wrong thing. That wasn’t the kind of thing that usually bothered a Luthor, but Lex felt entirely out of his depth in this situation, albeit in the best possible way. He was ill at ease with a happy family situation, though for years he craved to be a part of it. Clark and Martha Kent liked to make him feel at home at the farm, but there was always the underlying tension brought by Jonathan’s presence. He would never completely like Lex or welcome him into his home with open arms. In contrast it seemed the Sullivans were so determined to share Christmas with Lex that they would move their entire day into his house when he refused an offer to attend at their own home. Far from the sad and lonely day Lex Luthor had expected to have, it seemed today might be one of the best days of his life.
To Be Continued... (hopefully tomorrow!)